Improvement in seeding-machines



3 Sheets--.Sheet 1.,

J. H. JONES. v Seeding-Machines.

Patented July 21,1874.-

No.153,19a.

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UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE.

EMERSON AND WVILLIAM A.

TALOOTT, OF SAMEPLAOE.

IMPROVEMENT lN SEEDING-MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 153,198 dated July 21, 1374,- application filed I February 20, 1874.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES HERVA J ONES, of Rockford, in the county of innebago and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Seeding-Machines,

Y of which the following is a specification:

The object of the first part of my invention is to secure the seed-box in place upon the machine by detachable fastenings, in such manner that it may, when desired, readily be removed, and yet, when in place, be firmly held; to which end my improvement consists in a box or framing composed of side and end pieces securely fastened together, brace-bars or bearers crossing this box and resting in its sides, and screw-bolts, provided with nuts, passing through these brace-bars and a bedpiece or axle-plank secured upon the axle. The object of the next part of my invention is to provide a strong, cheap, and simple hinge or connection for the seed-box top or cover, and one which will allow a wide r, nge of motion to the cover, and yet, when the cover is swung open, will hold itin such a position'that it acts as a guard to prevent the spilling of seed in filling the box. To this end myimprovement consists in the combination, with the box, of a bent or cranked rod hinged at its ends in the end pieces of the box near their tops and on one side of their centers, and a top or cover pivoted on one side of its center to this rod, but on the side opposite to that in which the rod is pivoted in the ends of the box, whereby, when the lid is swung open, it both swings on the crank-arms and tilts on its'hinge, and rests in an inclined or upright position against the side of the box, and when closed fits snugly in place. My improvement further consists in combining, with the box, its lid, and pivoted rod, a stop or stops on the under side of the lid, which, when the lid is swung open, rest against the edge of the box, limiting the downward movement of the lid and holding it in an inclined position, partly projecting above the edge of the box, thus serving the purpose of a guard or fender to prevent the seed being wasted in filling the box. The object of the next part of my invention is to insure accuracy and thoroughness of operation in the seed agitating and feeding devices, to provide for regulating the amount of seed sown, and for shutting off entirely the flow of the seed from the box; to which end my improve ment consists in a seed feeding or agitating wheel, revolved horizontally in the bottom of the seed-box, having tangential arms, V shaped in cross-section, or wider at the top than at the bottom, which arms pass under a fixed cap or cut-off as the wheel revolves, and, owing to the shape of the arms or teeth, and consequently the spaces formed between them, make a forced feed of the seed in regulated quantities through an opening beneath the wheel under the cap. My improvement further consists in a stationary disk or plate, located directly beneath the seed-wheel, having an opening constituting a seed cup, into which the seed falls or are forced by the teeth of the wheel, a long bearing or sleeve for the shaft of the seed-wheel, and a circumferential flange on its under side, with a guideway formed therein for a seed-slide. My improvement further consists in the combination of a series of seed or agitator wheels, the stationary disks thereunder, the guideways therein, a single reciprocating seed-slide composed of a metal bar having openings therein registering with the seed cells or cups in the disks, and a lever for adjusting the slide, whereby the quantity of seed sown can be regulated or the entire flow of seed cut off at will by a, single slide. The object of the next part of my invention is so to construct the seed tube or trough that the seed, while protected from the wind and any external object inits passage along the trough, is prevented from clogging therein; to which end my improvement consists in combining, with an inclined openbacked seed-trough, a yielding lid or cover, which lifts whenthere is a tendency of the seed to choke or clog the trough. The object of the next part of my invention is to provide for raising and lowering the drag-bars,- and consequently the shovels, for regulating the depth to which the shovels penetrate the earth, and for holding them out of operation. To this end my improvement consists in combining a lever pivoted in rear of the seed-box on a rearwardly-projecting arm, a bar under the drag-bars, a bail or bent rod pivoted to the lever and secured to the bar under the drag-b. rs, and loops or guides on the dragbars to prevent backward and forward. movement of the liftingbar, whereby the bars may be raised and lowered, and also held up, by allowing the lever to fall and rest against the seed-box, thus bringing the point at which the bail is attached beyond a position perpendicularly over the pivot of the lever. My improvement further consists in combining the lifting-lever, a stop or shoulder thereon, the support or arm to which the lever is pivoted, and an eccentric washer or button under the arm, against one side or edge of which the stop on the lever abuts, whereby the descent of the drag-bars and the shovels may be regulated. The object of the next part of my invention is so to secure a shovel standard or stock to its drag'bar by a frictional clutch or clamp that, while the shovel will be held against ordinary working strain, it will, when encountering an obstruction, yield or swing back, thus preventing the breaking or straining of any of the parts of the machine; to which end my improvement consists of africtional clamp composed of a bracket having a bolthole in its upper portion to secure it to the side of the drag-bar, a horizontal rib or ledge forming a seat to bear against the under side of the drag-bar, adownhanger, or downwardly prqjectin g part, havmg a bolt-hole therein, and a clamp washer,

' kept in position by a teat or spur resting in a notch in the ledge or seat of the bracket, between which bracket and washer the shovelstock is secured by a bolt passed through all of them, and provided with a nut, to clamp the stock tightly, whereby the stock is held in working position on its pivot-bolt by frictional contact with theinner sidesof the bracket and washer, and may be adjusted to any angle desired, while free to swing back to override obstructions.

In the accompanying drawings, all my improvements are shown as embodied in the best way now known to me; .obviously, however, some of these improvements may be used without theothers, and in machines differing in construction and organization from the one shown. V

Figure 1 represents a view in perspective of my improved machine, with part of the seedbox broken away to show one of the seed wheels; Fig. 2, a vertical transverse section therethrough, with portions of one of the partitions and bearer-bars broken away to show one of the bolts for securing the box in place; Fig. 8, a perspective view of one of the seedtroughs detached; Fig. 4, a similar; view of one of the frictional clamp-brackets for securing the shovel-standards Fig. 5, a view, partly in section and partly in perspective, of the axle-plank or bed-piece, the seed-slide, and one of the seedcup disks audits holder; Fi 6, a plan View of one of the seed cup disks and its holder; Fig. 7, an edge or periphe 211 view of one of the sced-distributing wheels;

the edge ofthe box.

Fig. 8, a view of a portion of one of the shovel lifting and regulating levers and Fig. 9, a view of the under side of one of the lever-sup ports, showingthe eccentric stop for limiting the downward movement of the'lever.

The machine is supported on an. axle, A, mounted on two wheels, B B, one wheel, B, being fast on the axle,'and the other, B, loose thereon, as usual in this class of machines. The axle turns in bearings firmly bolted or otherwise attached to the under side of abeam or frame, 0, towhich is secured a tongue, 1), having diagonal braces, as usual. A seed-box, E, composed of side and end pieces firmly fastened together, is secured in place, so that the axle-beam U forms its bottom by means ofbracebars F F, which cross the box horizontally and rest in its sides, and long bolts f, passing vertically through the brace-bars and axle-beam, and secured by nuts. By this means the seedbox framing is firmly secured in place, and yet may readily be removed. The brace-bars F F project through the back of the box, and form bearers or supports for levers, as will hereinafter be explained. A top, G, is hinged to the box, as clearly shown in Fig. 1,by a long rod, 9, bent at its ends, and secured in either end of the box, so as to turn freely near the top and on one side of the center of the ends. The top issecured to the rod, in this instance, by blocks. g g, in which the rod turns. These blocks are secured to one side of the center of the lid, the side opposite to that in which the ends of the rod are pivoted.

By this construction the cover has a wide range of motion given to it, tilts as it is raised, and, when fully opened, rests, as shown, again st The blocks g 9 also act as stops to limit the movement of the top, which serves as a guard to prevent the seed from being spilled when filling the box. \Vhen closed the lid fits snugly in place.

The seed-box is divided, for a portion of its height, by inclined partitions, (on two of which it will be seen the brace-bars F F rest,) as usual, to form receptacles for the seed. Between these partitions arelocated the seed-a gitating wheels H. These wheels are fastened on vertical shafts It, having bevelpinions keyed to their lower ends, which mesh with correspondin g pinions faston the axle ot'themachine. The wheels H are tangentially slotted, or provided with tangential arms or teeth, as shown,

which are of V shape in cross-section, or wider at top than at their bottom. (Jappieces I project over the arms of the wheels at one side and fit snugly down upon them. Thesecap-pieces are, in this instance, secured upon the plates J, attached to but removable from the axle plank or frame 0. Resting in these plates or holders J are stationary disks K, provided with long bearings or sleeves K, for the shafts of the seed-wheels, and annular flanges k, on which wheels bear on the disks. Each disk has an opening, 70 in it, forming a seed-cup beneath the cap I, and on its under side has a circumi'erential flange, 75, hearing on the axle-plank O. A guideway, k is formedin the flange k of each disk, as-clearly shown in Fig. 6, in which fits a seed-slide,vL, composed of a flat metal rod,havin g openings l in it, registering when desired, with the seedcups k in thedisks, and with openings m in the. axle-plank. This slide is reciprocated in its guideway by a lever, B, pivoted as shown in Fig. 5, and by which the slide may be moved so as to bring the entire areas of the openings between the seed-cups-and openings in, or cause only portions of the openings to register with the seed-cups and lower openings and when desired the slide can bemoved far enough to shut otf entirely the communication between the openings at and the seedcups in the disks. The lever may be provided with any suitable well-known devicev for holding it in the desired position. It will be seen, from the foregoing description, that therevolntion of the driving or fast wheel causes the axle to revolve, and with it the bevel-pinions which are fastened thereon, these pinions causing the revolution of the seed-wheels H through their shafts h and the bevel-pinions thereon. As the wheels H revolve they carry seed between their arms under the caps I, making a forced feed of the seed to the seedeups in the disks below by reason ofthe peculiar shape of the arms, which force down the seed to the cups, through which it passes to the seedslide, (if open,) and, through the openin gs m in the bottom or axle beam of the machine, to seed tubes suspended from the beam.

The seed tubes or troughs M are formed, in this instance, each in two sections, the upper section being firmly secured to the beam, so that the seed from the seed-box will drop into it, and the lower section hinged to it so that it is free to swing backward but rigid against forward movement. The tube, it will be observed, is trough-sliaped, the open side being at the back, and has a scatterer, m ofapproved construction at its foot. To the upper part of the tube is hinged a strip, m forming a lid or flap to cover the open back of the tube, which, it will be seen, projects slightly rearward, owing to which inclination of the tube the flap remains closed by its own weight, except in case of a tendency of the seed to clog the tube, when the flap yields and the free flow through the tube continues. It is obvious that a spring-back might be used but I prefer the one described, as it is cheap and simple, and thoroughly protects the seed from the wind, so that it flows or slides evenly down the inclined tube to the scatterer, from which it is uniformly distributed, instead of irregularly scattered, as would be the case with scatterers attached to vertical tubes, through which the seed fall and impinge violently upon the scatterer and rebound therefrom. Drag-bars N are secured to the axle-beam, or, as is shown in this instance, to a strengthening-bar, a, secured thereto by means of brackets 0, each of which is formed with two arms, 0 0, having hooks at their ends, and a flange, 0 on either side of the body of the bracket, forming a seat or socket to receive the drag-bar, which may be fastenedfirmly thereon byascrew or bolt, 0

passing through the bracket and bar. To fasten the drag-bar in place the hooksof the bracket are passed over a long rod, P, secured to the under side of the axle beam or barn. The bar is then placed in the socket of the bracket, formed by the flanges on its sides, with the end of the-bar projecting under the rod P. The bracket and drag-bar are then securely united, in this instance, by the screwbolt 0 and its nut. By this means the dragbar is securelyheld in place, while free to swing up and down, and may easily be removed in case of breakage of the bracket, drag-bar, or parts connected therewitln by taking out the bolt. The series of dragbars, it will be seen, are, in thisinstance, spaced or separated the desired distance by the contactof the brackets on the rod. The drag-bars carry shovels R, the stocks or standards 1' of which are secured to the drag-bars by friction clamp-brackets S, so that while the shovels can be adjusted to any desired angle, andheld against any ordinary working strain, they' will swing back in event of encountering unyielding obstructions, and thus prevent injury to the machine. Each one of these brackets is formed with a flange or lip, s, with a bolt-hole therein to clamp it to the side of the drag-bar; a ledge or rib, s bearing against the under side of the bar and forming a seat for it to rest upon, and thus prevent the clamp turning on its bolt; a downhanger, 8 (or downwardly-projecting body,) with a hole therein, through which passes the bolt by which the standard is secured; and a notch or recess in the ledge 8 in which rests a teat or spur, t, on a cla mpwasher or bearing-plate, T, to prevent it from turning. By these means the shovel-standard can be securely fastened to the drag-bars and easily removed. By means of levers U the drag-bars and shovels may be raised and lowered, the depth of penetration of the shovels regulated, and the shovels held up for passing obstructions, or when moving the machine from place to place.

I have shown twolevers, U, and divided the drag-bars into two series, each of which is controlled by one or the other of the levers in a similar manner. The levers are pivoted, in this instance, in the projecting ends of the brace-bars F F by bolts passing through the ends a of the bars, which are, preferably, of metal, as shown. Each lever has pivoted in it, near its lower end, a bent rod or ba-il,-V, the ends of which are fastened to a rod, V, passing under half the drag-bars, after passing through guides on two of the drag-bars, in this instance formed of loops or staples V on the sides of two of the bars, to prevent the lifting-rod V from swaying back and forth to an inj urious extent; Eccentric washers or stops W are secured, one tothe under side of each bearer-bar F F, so that it may be turned and yet remain, when desired, in any position to which it is adjusted. Shoulders V, one on each lever U, abut, when thelevers are lowered, against the sides or edges of these stops. By these means the distance to which the shovels penetrate the soil can be regulated with rapidity and certainty. The shovels of either series of drag-bars may be held elevated by allowing the lever which controls them to rest against the seed-box, as when in this position the point to which the bail is pivoted in the lever is somewhat beyond a perpendicular line drawn through the pivots of the levers in the brace-bars or bearers F F.

The operation of my improved seeder will readily be understood from the foregoing description.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination of the seed-box, the

horizontal transverse brace-bars resting in the sides thereof, and the vertical bolts passing through the brace-bars and axle-beam, these parts being constructed substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination, with the seed-box, of its cover and the bent rod hinged thereto and pivoted in the ends of the box, these parts being constructed and operating substantially as set forth.

The combination of the seed-box, the cover, the bent rod, and the stops on the under side of the cover, substantially as set forth.

4. The seed-wheel, constructed as described,

' with tangential arms, beveled on their under 6. The combination of the series of seedwheels revolving on vertical axes, the stationary disks, with seed-cups and guideways therein, and a single seed-slide reciprocating directly through all the disks, and operating both to cut off and regulate the quantity of seed sown, substantially as set forth.

7. The combination of the seed-trough and its hinged flap, substantially as set forth.

8. The combination of the seed-box, the

- and operating substantially as set forth.

9. The combination of the lifting-lever, the brace-bar forming a support therefor, and the eccentric stop w, adjustable on the support, these parts being constructed substantially as and for the purpose set forth. a

10. The friction clamp-bracket, constructed as described, with a flange by which to bolt it to the drag-bar, a ledge to prevent it fronr turning thereon, and a downhanging projection, in combination with a clamp-washer provided with a spur taking into a notch in the bracket, between which washer and the downhanger the shovel-stock is secured by a single bolt passing through all three, all these members being constructed and operating as set forth. p

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name.

J. HERVA JONES.

\Vitnesses:

l. W. IR-vnvn, Gno. H. STANLEY. 

